Meat Loaf's debut album, Bat Out of Hell, was released in 1978 and went on to become one of rock's biggest sellers of all time, staying in the UK charts for an astonishing 400 weeks. But Meat - real name Michael Lee Aday - has certainly had his own ride through hell when it comes to money. By 1983 he was filing for bankruptcy and began a long battle with Sony Records over unpaid royalties. The problems began when he fired his manager, David Sonneberg, who subsequently sued him for £51m. Meat Loaf used all his spare cash from the royalties he had received (which he was saving towards his retirement) to mount a defence and, as the case grew, so did the number of lawyers. He finished up with 11 attorneys and a £750,000 bill.

When he ran out of cash, he was advised to file for Chapter 11 protection, the step before bankruptcy that, in US law, protects a debtor from law suits and allows time for preparing a financial strategy. But Sony claimed Meat Loaf was still under contract to perform, so he filed Chapter 7 instead - complete bankruptcy. In response, Sony declared him in breach of contract and refused to pay further royalties. The only way was to record and release more records.

"I'm a fighter," he tells me from his London hotel. "If I'm depressed, it's only for 15 minutes and then I'm angry. I decided they didn't have my name and couldn't take it away - so screw them.

"I get like an animal who's caged - no matter what they throw at me, I'm always going to fight my way out."

In the mid-1990's he turned the tables on Sony, accusing them of failing to correctly account for record sales. He claimed the company deliberately recorded fewer album sales, to pay artists lower royalties, and keep the extra cash themselves. He claimed they owed him £8m.

"They settled, but only in a very small way," he says. "The standard in Hollywood is if they owe you £15m, they want to settle for £6m or £10m and you think, 'Well £6m is better than nothing so I'll take it.' So then they've made £9m. If they do that ten times with ten artists, then they make £90m on top of what's already made.

"There's not an artist alive, or will ever be alive, that has ever been paid what they are owed. You just need to know that going in. If you sign with a record label be prepared - you won't get all your money. It's not going to happen."

That's not the only way he's been unlucky - he's had a poor experience with investments. He's been watching his stock values dive while a court injunction prevented him withdrawing any of the capital from his investments.

He doesn't want to talk about the reason for the injunction (probably connected to his divorce) but it's made him feel that the safest place for any money is underneath the mattress. Or in property. "I've made a whole lot of money buying and selling property," he enthuses, "more than I have recording and touring - trust me. I look for bargains and I renovate them, but I never put more in than I can get back."

If there's one result from the negative experiences it's that he keeps a tight control over his own budgets. Currently on tour for a year, he knows exactly how much things should be costing. He buys used sets, calculates the cost of the trucks, the riggers and even the fuel. Then he hands his tour company a budget for the first 100 shows and challenges then to show him where he's wrong.

This approach means he can set his own ticket price and he loves to be involved in making sure the price is fair.

"Sure I'll charge £12 for a shirt, but with my shirts you can be sure they cost me more than 60p which is what you get with other bands.

"Mine will have cost at least £4 because I make sure it's the best damn shirt money can buy."

Cheque it out ... it's strictly cash or cards

Prefers to pay - by cash or cards. He thinks checking accounts are just a way for banks to make money. He uses cards to pay business expenses, so he doesn't have to collect receipts.

Lottery - if he won £2m he'd give 35% to charity and use the rest to buy another property to renovate and sell.

General outlook - "never do anything for the money alone." He hates the Phantom of the Opera and would never appear in it, despite having been offered £96,000 a week to play the lead in Canada. "I don't get it, I don't understand it, I don't get why it's a hit, there's no redeeming features. I would go completely crazy doing that."

Collects - sports memorabilia, but a lot of that is given to him because he knows the athletes involved.

Revenue - he's made 10 albums and acted in 44 films "I've seen myself 12 times on English TV in the last 45 days. They are supposed to pay royalties every time. I'd be interested to see if I get anything when I get home..."